Hello everyone! I was wondering if someone could give some input on my college decision that I want to make by Friday. I’m a female student from Illinois, w a 34 ACT, 35 superscore with 36 R 36 E 36 S 31 M, and a 4.8 weighted GPA. I received the full tuition scholarship at Alabama, leaving me with only housing to pay. However the housing there is expensive, and because I absolutely intend on rushing a sorority the total cost will come out to about $12000 a year if my estimates are correct. Also, I am a member of their honors college. At Michigan, I received a very good scholarship which leads me to believe attending UM will be about $10000 a year. The difference in cost doesn’t make too much of a difference to me, which makes it hard to decide where to go. I want to major in business or political science, and most likely go to law school. My worry is with UM that I won’t be able to transfer into the Ross School of Business. However, the prestige of that school is hard to pass up. Another factor is that to be frank it’ll be easier for me to have a top GPA at Alabama which is better for law school. Not saying I won’t work as hard, it’s just more likely that I can get top scores. When looking through the students that attend both schools, Alabama people tend to seem more relaxed, fun, and down to earths whereas the Michigan students seemed to be fun but also extremely … wealthy and kind of flashy about it. I could be completely wrong but that was the vibe I got. I visited both schools and the Alabama campus is stunning, whereas Ann Arbor is cool and funky but leaves something to be desired compared to other campuses. Really, it all comes down to benefits and drawbacks that are practically balancing each other out at this point – does anyone have any input? Thank you!
I think you covered it all. Good luck. Roll Tide.
The aid from UMich, isn’t it a need-based grant instead of merit scholarship? I would be surprised if you can get $50k “scholarships” from them. I doubt ACT 34 would grant you a large scholarship there. You should have received the estimated FA package from them already. There are differences between merit and need-based aids. Grants may vary year to year depending on your family financial situation and money available from school. Merit scholarships usually have a renewable requirement. Nevetheless, UMich has been offering very generous financial aids to OOS students with significant financial needs in the recent years.
For transferring to Ross, they have changed the admission last year that 80% will be from freshmen pre-admission instead of 20% leaving limited space for transfer in sophomore year.
UMich is a large school that many students particularly from OOS are from wealthy families, but there are also the other extreme too as they meet 100% need for all in state students. It is up to you to make friends in whatever economic level. Ann Arbor is ranked among one of the best college town (#2 this year I think), nevertheless, it is up to personal preference.
If you do have concern with the total cost, you should figure out if any part of the aids may potentially be not renewed or subject to change. If UMich is cheaper for you, I think it would be a better choice as it has many great programs. Note that half of the college students graduated with a different major than they originally intended as freshmen. Have a lot of choices is crucial.
@billcsho I received a full ride scholarship from Michigan OOS for engineering (with a significant amount of both merit and financial aid), so it’s definitely possible. As for UMich vs Alabama, I would definitely pick UMich. Much better school and better career/grad school opportunities. Also Ann Arbor is a much better location to go to college than Tuscaloosa.
@billcsho , addressing your comment about the making friends in different economic levels, I guess what I meant to say by that I’m a very social person and I intend on going out a lot and all that and I want to find others that do as well. I’m also 100% set on Greek life. So, when meeting people at Alabama and I guess observing both Greek-affiliated students at Alabama and Michigan through social media that the social and fun kids at Michigan tend to be super flashy about wealth online. Again, could be totally wrong about the vibe of the social kids at each school but that’s just what I saw.
@allnighter21 why do you say? Tuscaloosa is kinda in the middle of nowhere but it seemed nice and a good time to me
@njk1999 Your observation on Greek life at UMich is correct.
@allnighter21 Your financial aid package has nothing to do with OP. Congrats on your FA package though.
UMich, even without Ross, is still prestigious.
To me, at the same price, I know I’d take the Near-Ivy that is good in almost every subject.
BTW, if you’re afraid of competition, don’t bother with law school.
@PurpleTitan definitely not afraid of competition! Just looking at what would work best for me in every respect, as well as looking what school I really love and would make me the most happy
Is this really a difficult decision njk1999?
Yes @rjkofnovi it is. I’m choosing between where my heart and brain are but I’m really not the first. My potential roommate at Alabama uncommitted to Cornell and turned down an offer at UC Berkeley to go, as did a girl I know that got into Georgetown for poli sci. It’s not as obvious as it seems
@njk1999: In that case, why would you think getting a high GPA would be easier at 'Bama?
“Yes @rjkofnovi it is. I’m choosing between where my heart and brain are but I’m really not the first. My potential roommate at Alabama uncommitted to Cornell and turned down an offer at UC Berkeley to go, as did a girl I know that got into Georgetown for poli sci. It’s not as obvious as it seems.”
Did those people turn down those schools mainly because 'Bama was much cheaper for them to attend? If so, your point is not well taken. In your case, Michigan and Alabama will cost roughly the same. If you decide to attend Alabama because currently you feel it is a better social fit for you, just keep in mind that your decision will last a lifetime. No matter what your heart wishes, these are not peer schools.
One other point I’d like to make to the OP. Michigan has about a 97% freshman retention rate. That is extremely high, especially for a school of its size. Chances are you’re going to love your time there as much as you would in Tuscaloosa. Socially you’re going to be happy at either place.
Again, this is a personal decision. Other people have their own considerations. What matter is which one fits you more. Forget about other people’s choice or financial aid. You may want to check the 4 year graduation rate and how likely you can graduate in 4 years. That would include the AP and transfer credit policy too. One semester would make a big difference in total cost.
I’m surprised at the characterization of Michigan as a rich kids’ school (if that’s what the OP is saying).
Although they’re both public universities, Michigan has very good need-based aid while Alabama has relatively poor n-b aid. Michigan’s overall average annual cost is about $5K/year lower than Alabama’s (acc. to College Scorecard).
At Michigan, about 2/3 of entering freshmen in 2016-17 applied for n-b aid (according to its CDS).
About 1/3 received n-b aid packages averaging about $24K (which would cover virtually the entire in-state sticker price for tuition, room, and board.)
@tk21769 As a Michigan alum I can attest that most of the out-of-state students who comprise at least 45% of the student body are from wealthy families. Michigan has not and still does not provide enough (in quantity and amount) merit aid to make the cost affordable for high stat students whose family has not saved at least $250,000 for their one child’s undergraduate education or have the assets, borrowing power (i.e., second mortgage) or earning power to afford the pricey private school type tuition, which will be about $45,000 per year plus $12,000 room and board for under classmen (and few thousand more for upper classmen). For families such as mine that have two or more kids to get through college the cost to attend Michigan just not doable. I just went through the admisson process with my high stat daughter and no merit aid was forthcoming and ,even with two kids in college next fall, the need based aid was not enough to bring the costs down below $45,000 per year for cost of attendance. And the need-based aid will disappear after my oldest son graduates after daughter’ sophomore year. In which case I’d have to be full pay. (We received a lot more need based aid on top of merit aid from private colleges). Only the wealthy can afford upwards of that amounts per year, especially if they have more than one child to put through for college.
Wealthier families tend to participate in Greek life more, simply because of the extra costs. But I would not characterize a large portion of the students as snooty. AA is definitely full of intellectual snobs, gourmet cooks and foodies, musicians, and tech wienies. On the other hand, walk through the athletic department parking lot at Bama and you’ll see it full of Mercedes. In Ann Arbor, it’s F-150’s and Subarus.
People are a lot different in person than on FB, and most lose their HS persona by the time they have gone through a semester or two. They wear the college uniform of jeans and t-shirts and just dress up for interviews and parties. The kids at Michigan overall are a lot smarter than at Bama, and the focus at Michigan is on research, whereas Bama is more on undergraduate teaching.
I lived next to AA for a couple years and found it a peculiar blend of post industrial NJ and Santa Fe. If that’s your thing, cool.
That was a while ago and probably it’s different now.
njk1999, I doubt that many students choose Alabama over Cal, Cornell or Michigan purely for reasons of the heart. In most cases, there is probably a financial dimension that weighs in heavily in the decision. You said that in your case, finances are not an issue, so that makes your decision all the more puzzling.
Where I am a little bit confused is that Michigan should be significantly ahead of Alabama…in your head, and in your heart, but because it is better, but because it is similar to Alabama in most respects, and significantly better. Your reasoning makes little sense. Let analyze the facts:
Both are large public universities (Alabama has 32,000 undergraduate students while Michigan has 28,000).
Both are set in nice college towns (Ann Arbor is nicer if you ask me, but it boils down to personal preference I suppose).
Both have a rich football tradition and crazy school spirit.
Both have a sizable Greek presence. Admittedly, it is more pronounced at Alabama, where roughly 35% of women belong to sororities, compared to 18% at Michigan.
Ross is excellent, and considering your academic accomplishments, it is fair to say that you have a solid chance of getting into it. It is unclear whether or not attending a top university helps with graduate admissions, but Michigan places a large number of students in the best law schools, particularly its own, which is one of the top 10 Law schools in the nation.
You say that the students at Alabama seemed more relaxed, fun and down to earth, while Michigan students seemed wealthy and flashy about it. That may be true to a degree. I don’t see how you can expect two universities with different admissions standards (Alabama’s mean ACT is 26.5, compared to Michigan’s 31 and Alabama’s mean SAT is 1100 compared to Michigan’s 1400) to have similar student bodies. Naturally, the student body at Michigan is going to be more intense academically. Also, Michigan students do tend to come from affluent backgrounds, although Alabama students do too. But with 30,000 students on hand, you will be able to find your niche at either school. You are not going to make friends with the entire student body, only with a small group of people that you get along with.
Honestly, I do not think your reasons for choosing Alabama over Michigan (supposedly nicer campus, more relaxed and less wealthy student bodies) outweigh the benefits of going to Michigan. That being said, you must do what you feel is best for you.